


Caught Staring

by NotSoHotsuin



Category: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2
Genre: Best Friends, Fluff, Humor, M/M, No Angst, Oneshot, This is the most platonic thing I’ve ever written, mentions of a character's death, second day spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-11-23 15:02:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11404854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotSoHotsuin/pseuds/NotSoHotsuin
Summary: Daichi notices Hibiki keeps staring at him.Eventually, he asks why.





	Caught Staring

Osaka was not as bad as people made it out to be. Aside from people like Keita, the civilians were actually nice when you approached them, and there were plenty of safe places that were not demon-infested yet. Daichi found a broken vending machine and managed to score himself and Hibiki some drinks so they could unwind and relax for a while. The view of their world in ruins was still so hard to swallow, but they needed all the energy they could gather to tackle the future. If that meant resting for a while rather than fighting, then so be it. Daichi had no problem with that arrangement.

They sat down on the long stairway where they previously rescued Keita- the area was so desolate now that they had cleared out all the miasma. While the place was abandoned, it seemed to be filled with little posters and other commercial media for people’s viewing pleasure. It must have been a busy district back when the world was less of a living hell. Daichi was focusing all his attention on the different images for a while, mostly on a poster that had a strange blonde girl on the cover. She reminded him a little of Io.  
  
His focus was broken when he noticed Hibiki was looking his way. Daichi never understood why Hibiki stared at him when he was drinking something. He had done so for several years, and Daichi never once thought to ask why it was so interesting to watch him drink liquid. Eventually, he had to pose the question, only because they were in public, and because he needed to know if he was doing something embarrassing that would make others laugh at him.   
  
“Do I have a weird drinking-face?” Hibiki tensed up a little, startled to know he was caught staring. He would have tried to convince Daichi he was imagining it had it not been asked so suddenly.   
“What?”   
“You keep looking at me… Not gonna lie dude, that’s a little worrying. There’s lots of better things to look at.” Hibiki mouthed an ‘oh’ and pointed towards Daichi’s hand with his own.   
“You never touch drinks with your pinkie finger.”   
“...Say what?”   
“You hold your drinks with four fingers.” He turned to look at his drink, and did notice he was holding it a certain way, but he had no clue why Hibiki was fixated on this of all things. He supposed it was a more effeminate way of holding drinks, but he never paid attention to it. It also never really bothered him. If he had to be completely honest, he never thought anyone noticed.   
“I guess? What’s so special about that? So I hold my drinks funny?” He expected Hibiki to say something teasing. Something along the lines of ‘It’s goofy’ or ‘It’s stupid’, but was at a loss of words when Hibiki flashed him a confident grin.   
“It’s cute.” Daichi made a mental note never to ask Hibiki anything ever again.   
  
“Go stare at girls or something, like a normal guy!”   
“Like you?” Daichi nearly spilled his drink. He had not realized he cornered himself with that sentence.   
“I wasn’t staring!” His best friend’s laugh made his face flush red. “Go away, Hibiki! I’ll get back on my own!”   
“Are you ditching me?”   
“I’m not ditching you! To ditch you, I have to leave. I’m doing the opposite. I’m telling you to leave. I’m reverse-ditching you!” He hated how his nerves acted up whenever Hibiki laughed at his statements as if they were jokes. They were, but he wanted Hibiki to at least try and play along- to entertain the idea.   
  
“Why aren’t you taking this seriously!? I’m serious! Leave me and my weird drinking habits alone!” Although, the way Hibiki leaned against his shoulder made him want to forget the conversation ever took place.   
“Okay, I’ll go in five minutes.”   
“No wait,” Daichi placed his hand on Hibiki’s shoulder to keep him in place. “Time’s up. Offer expired. You’re staying here.”   
“Well, that was easy,” Daichi bit his lower-lip and squeezed Hibiki’s shoulder.   
“I’m still mad at you.”   
“Oh? That was mad Daichi? Mad Daichi looks similar to Embarrassed Daichi. Kinda like when he looks at Io and tries to talk-” The way Hibiki read him so clearly sent a shiver down his spine.   
“I’ve changed my mind again! Go away! Go! Away!”   
“This is my favorite bipolar relationship.” Daichi had not expected Hibiki to offer him such a comment, so he ended up bursting into laughter a little too loudly. It eventually made Hibiki laugh as well, and Daichi gave up on that part of their conversation. It was obvious that he did not want Hibiki to leave. That was why he was still sitting next to him. Since Hibiki had some fun at his expense, he decided to poke at Hibiki’s ego as well. It was just some harmless fun between friends. At least, that was what it was masked as.   
  
“So I’m your favorite relationship? Damn, gonna be tough on you when I find a girlfriend.” Hibiki stifled a laugh and grinned widely.   
“Sure, it is.” Daichi’s pitch spiked almost instantly at the clear disbelief in Hibiki’s tone.   
“What does that mean!? I can get a girl!” Hibiki patted Daichi’s back soothingly with a small nod of his head.   
“Sure, you can.” Hibiki was not laughing at that fact. He knew Daichi could get a girl, but he sincerely doubted Daichi would like said girlfriend more than his best friend. Perhaps that was arrogance at work, but he liked to think he was a really good friend. Finding someone that could outperform him was just humorous.   
“I just don’t need one right now! School’s a full time job, after all.”   
“So is an actual full time job. By that logic, you’ll never get to dating.” Daichi pouted and contemplated putting some distance between Hibiki and himself, but that would mean he would have to give up the comfortable pose he found himself sitting in, and he was not ready to do that just yet.   
“S-stop pointing this stuff out! Just say you’d miss me!”   
“Is that something you want?” Daichi had already forgotten what it was he said in response to Hibiki’s teasing. He admitted that most his replies came out of impulse, and he often had to backtrack to remember exactly what it was he implied with his statement.   
“Do I want what?”   
“Me to miss you?” Daichi tried to mull it over, and hummed silently to himself. It did sound as if that was what he was implying. He was not sure why, but he did not want to think about it anymore than he had to.   
“It wouldn’t hurt. Come on. Be honest. You’d be totally lost without me.” It was supposed to be a joke, so he was not mentally prepared for a serious reply.   
“Yeah,” Hibiki rubbed his cheek against Daichi’s shoulder and made himself comfortable. “You’re my best friend. Of course, I’d miss you.”   
  
Something about the way Hibiki had said it made his face feel warm, and the added weight of Hibiki’s body leaning against his was not helping him calm his racing heart. It felt pleasant to hear him say it, but did he have to say it so seriously?   
  
“I’m tired. Daichi, carry me.” That helped do away with all his positive emotions very quickly.   
“Aha! Now I get why you were being so corny!” Daichi shook his head and looked away. “I’m not carrying you back to JP’S! No matter how much you try to smooth-talk your way around it!”   
“Damn,” Daichi knew Hibiki was joking, he could tell by the smile on his face, but he really hoped the previous comment was genuine. Thinking that Hibiki said it just to tease him was actually making him a little uneasy. He wanted Hibiki to miss him, but that was a common need, right? It was just nice to feel wanted. It had nothing to do with anything else. It couldn’t possibly be related to anything other than friendship.   
  
“Please?” Still, so persistent.   
“No way, man. My shoulders hurt. Why does your head have to be so heavy?”   
“So, if your shoulders weren’t hurting, are you saying you’d carry me?”   
“No! That’s not what I’m saying at all! I-” He pulled himself up from the stairs and nearly fell forward. Hibiki ended up sliding down one step from the lack of balance on his left, and pulled himself upright. Daichi’s fingers curled around the railing next to them to regain his footing, and he quickly turned to look Hibiki’s way.   
  
“Find your own way back. Now, I’m really ditching you.” Daichi wondered if Hibiki had any other expression other than that cocky-looking grin, or if it was just stuck like that whenever they were alone.   
“Do you know your way back to JP’S?” Daichi snorted and folded his arms across his chest to roll his eyes.   
“Haha, do I know my way back to JP’S…” The smile on Daichi’s face gradually faded at the realization that they were not in Tokyo anymore.   
“...D-do I know my way back to JP’S? Uh… Good… Good question.” Hibiki got up on his feet and took a hold of Daichi’s hand to guide him down the stairway.   
“Come here, I know a shortcut.”   
“But. I’m ditching you.”   
“You can ditch me tomorrow. Come now,”   
  
Not that he would ever follow through, but it was always relieving to see that Hibiki did not feel insulted by the implication at all. It was as if he considered the idea of Daichi walking out on him laughable. Daichi hoped that was the case, because he never wanted their friendship to end. He glanced down at their joined hands, and curled his fingers around Hibiki’s palm nervously to tighten his grip just a little.   
  
Just in case Hibiki was thinking about letting go.


End file.
